Juncadella, Baud, Koizumi starting seventh in LMGT3 after Hyperpole session
LE MANS, France (June 13, 2024) – TF Sport’s No. 82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start from the fourth row of the LMGT3 field Saturday for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the debut appearance at the French endurance classic for the GT3-spec Corvette.
Hiroshi Koizumi piloted the Corvette in Thursday’s 30-minute Hyperpole session, which set the top eight positions in each of the three classes in this year’s race. Koizumi’s lap of 4:03.681 (125.082 mph) was his fastest of the weekend heading into Thursday night’s final practice and then Saturday’s race.
He will drive with Frenchman Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella, whose lap in Wednesday’s qualifying secured a spot in Hyperpole.
The two Corvettes – including the No. 81 of Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy that will start 18th – are part of a 23-car grid in LMGT3. Saturday’s race will mark the first time that GT3 cars will take part at Le Mans, and nine manufacturers are presented in the class.
The No. 70 McLaren qualified on the class pole.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. MotorTrend will air live television coverage with streaming coverage available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. plus the audio call on Radio Le Mans.
TF SPORT POST-HYPERPOLE DRIVER QUOTES
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “It’s my first Le Mans and my first Hyperpole. I’m so thankful to the team and everyone who is supporting us. Tomorrow is a full schedule with the parade, which I am looking forward to doing, and getting ready for the race. Dani, Seb and I will analyze our runs from today with our engineers. We will absorb all the data and learn from it, and hopefully that leads to a good result Sunday.”
(En Francais): “C’est mes premières 24 Heures et mon premier Hyperpole. Je suis très reconnaissant à l’équipe et à tous ceux qui nous soutiennent. Demain, le programme est chargé avec la parade, que j’ai hâte de faire, et la préparation de la course. Dani, Seb et moi allons analyser nos runs d’aujourd’hui avec nos ingénieurs. Nous allons absorber toutes les données et en tirer des enseignements, et nous espérons que cela nous permettra d’obtenir un bon résultat dimanche.”
SÉBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: It was a good result and a good lap time for Hiroshi. He is very consistent and is careful, which is very important for a race like Le Mans. This is the biggest job. Hopefully Dani can push for the top-three or top-four to put us in a good position. My job is to maintain our position, and I’m focused on that. I’m very excited now about the race. Tomorrow is the parade, which is a great moment for us as drivers, for the fans, for our sponsors, and for Corvette and Cadillac. We hope to keep the good energy into Saturday.”
(En Francais): “C’est un bon résultat et un bon chrono pour Hiroshi. Il est très régulier et prudent, ce qui est très important pour une course comme Le Mans. C’est le plus gros travail. J’espère que Dani pourra se hisser dans les trois ou quatre premiers pour nous mettre en bonne position. Mon travail consiste à maintenir notre position, et je me concentre là-dessus. Je suis très excité par la course. Demain, il y aura la parade, qui est un grand moment pour nous en tant que pilotes, pour les fans, pour nos sponsors, et pour Corvette et Cadillac. Nous espérons conserver cette bonne énergie jusqu’à samedi.”
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